by Benson, Tom
“Departed?” Sandy said, and his brow creased.
“In a small rowing boat,” Bill said and received a look of astonishment.
“Oh my ….” Flint slowly shook his head from side to side.
“Was it in decent condition?” Sandy said, interested in the practicalities.
“It looked robust and would easily carry four adults,” Bill said. “In the few glimpses I got of the thing before it disappeared, Patsy was using two oars quietly and smoothly. She was confident enough to row along the edge of the loch under the shelter of the trees, and the child wasn’t acting excited, which tells me they’ve used the boat before.”
“They didn’t see you?” Sandy said.
“No, I didn’t look over the embankment right away, and then I waited a couple of minutes before I followed them. They were already a short distance away.”
Flint said, “Is there anything specific which makes you think they won’t be back, apart from all the baggage?”
“I’m pretty sure they set booby-traps at the pond.”
Sandy nodded. “A couple of us will have to do another recce then.”
Bill and Flint nodded before they broke up their meeting.
A brief notice was placed at the end of the cafeteria counter in the usual place to say that there would be an extraordinary update in the evening after the late meal the next day.
.
Monday 25th July
Bill met Sandy out on the patio. “I’m not going to keep you for long, mate, but remember our suspected dangers in the forest.” He glanced over his shoulder towards the door. “Our mysterious neighbours might have moved on, but as I said on my debrief, I believe they may have left a farewell message in the vicinity of the pond. I’d keep the logging operation close to the edge of the forest.”
Sandy nodded. “What about the booby-traps?”
“Flint and I will deal with that threat.”
Marie came outside with those who’d be on the timber trimming and building team.
“Anyway,” Bill said, “I don’t want to see you cutting down half of that forest so that Marie can build a town.”
Sandy winked. “Until later, mate.”
Bill set off for the Control Room where he’d agreed to meet up with Cherry. On the way, he met Harry. “Hi, mate. I heard you had an interesting if short chat on your radio yesterday.”
“Yes, such great news, Bill. Marianne, who as you know is in Bolivia, has heard from Jacob.”
“Didn’t you think he’d been lost?”
“Yes and as you’ll recall we were getting an intermittent radio signal for months but no calls.”
“Yes, you were hoping it was something to do with the reflective layers in the stratosphere or something.”
“Yes, the ionosphere, which reflects the signal from shortwave radio signals, but, of course, as the sky became denser and weather patterns changed, it stopped Jacob’s signal. He left Australia to aim for New Zealand, but both countries are deep in the southern hemisphere.”
“Right, and Bolivia is pretty much in the centre of South America, but it’s also in the southern hemisphere.”
Harry nodded. “I’ll tell you more later. For now, Marianne has her usual power supply issues. From the brief messages, Jacob had personal injuries when he was rescued from a beach. His radio and antenna were damaged. The two people who’d sailed with him from Australia had been lost in a storm.”
“Couldn’t it be the same for the fourth member of your radio group … the man in Africa?”
“Benji … yes, well he was also in the southern hemisphere because he was in Kenya. He was heading to neighbouring Tanzania. Unlike Jacob, we’ve lost touch with Benji completely and nobody has heard anything … no voice and no radio signal.”
“It would be good to think that he made it through somehow. I’m really pleased for Marianne, Jacob, and you too, of course. I look forward to hearing the details they pass on.” Bill was still smiling as he pushed open the door of the Control Room and waved at the people in there.
“Hello again, Bill,” Des said as he swung around in his chair.
“Hi, Bill.” Cherry was checking some information in a handbook.
“How are things going with you guys?”
Des said, “I’m more impressed every day with this young lady and she, meanwhile, is working hard as usual.”
Cherry laughed. “I’m trying to ensure that I get a place on the team for Operation Long Haul.”
Bill glanced at the diagram that Cherry was studying. “I can find my way around most diagrams, but those things are mesmerising.”
“It’s like reading a story once you get your head around the symbols and colour codes,” Cherry winked at Des.
Des laughed. “I know there are selection criteria for the mission, but for my money, this woman is your electrician.”
Bill turned to Cherry. “Have you and Calvin discussed the possibility of you going?”
“Yes, we wouldn’t both want to go and leave the twins without their parents for two weeks, and it will be bad enough for us if one of us goes. Calvin knows how much it would mean for me to play my part, and it’s important that whoever deals with the substations is competent.”
“You’ve already played a massive part in our development. If it weren’t for your skill and dexterity, we’d still be out in the glass corridor chipping away at the outside door.” Bill paused. “As for Calvin, we’ve all maintained our physical fitness thanks to his perseverance.”
“He loves every minute of the early morning training.”
“I know.” Bill laughed. “While you and I and the other volunteers are panting he’s grinning.”
Des said, “Basic fitness is fine for me, and I’ll be happy to do my bit here in the Control Room.”
Bill nodded to the manual in front of Cherry. “Will one more week be enough for you to be ready?”
Cherry nodded. “This week is not so much about learning but more of a revision period.”
Des said, “Every now and then, when Cherry is in here to study, I locate a diagram and ask her questions regarding the key aspects of the different installations.” He smiled. “It’s all going pretty damn well.”
“I don’t know about you, Cherry,” Bill said. “I have two younger rivals aiming to prevent me from leading the mission, so I’ve got to work hard for my place. Right, I’ll leave you guys to it, and I’ll go and get on with something in the great outdoors.”
Flint was sitting out on the patio with his backpack at his feet when Bill came outside wearing his backpack and carrying a laser rifle slung from his shoulder.
“Are we ready to go?” Bill said. “I’ve told Calvin that you’re going with me as company.”
“I’m ready when you are, mate.” Flint threw his backpack onto his shoulders. “Ramona gave me extra fruit because I told her we’d probably be out longer than the people gathering timber.”
“As long as we’ve got water and something for a snack we’ll be fine.”
The pair went down the zig-zag pathway until almost as far as the shelters, and then they left the path to set off across the open land to the forest.
“Have a pleasant walk,” Marie shouted from the foundations of the new building project.
“And don’t you try to finish that job today,” Flint called back.
By the time Bill and Flint arrived at the edge of the forest, they saw Craig, Steph and Tracey out in the open. They were stripping the small branches from a tree before dragging it the two miles to where Marie was marking out.
“I’d be careful in there,” Craig said. “That guy with the laser gun might cut you in half.”
“He wouldn’t dare,” Bill said.
“Are you guys doing a follow-up to the recent patrols?” Steph said.
“Yes,” Flint said. “I told Bill I wanted to go along because if he’s on his own, he’d get lost and be out all night.”
Bill said, “If it were dangerous, I wouldn’t allo
w Flint to go with me.”
“I don’t know which of you is the worst.” She smiled and shook her head.
Not far inside the tree-line, Norman the ex-forestry manager was selecting the best trees for Sandy to bring down. Standing back waiting were Jay-Dee, Archie, Victoria and Dawn. They were ready to trim the larger branches before the tree was dragged out for further reduction and haulage to the building site.
Bill and Flint paused to watch Sandy working under Norman’s directions, making clinical incisions with his laser to avoid damaging other trees.
Flint turned to Dawn. “Isn’t Paul involved in this today?”
“No, he’s taken a walk to the final section of the path with Alan on a special little project.”
“Of course, the fishing spot.”
“Yes, Paul and Alan have been so pleased to have fish added to our diet they want to build a small pier out from the water’s edge. Apparently, a few metres would provide access to deeper water.” She shook her head. “They’re so eager they’re starting a temporary fishing point by building a narrow rocky mound from the shoreline.”
“Somewhere they can sit and while the hours away with a line dangling in the water?”
Dawn nodded. “Exactly, but according to them, there is a level of skill involved.”
“That’s only to give the idea credibility.” Flint grinned.
Bill waited until the next selected tree fell, and he approached Sandy. “We’re going to check out the freshwater pond area.”
“Okay mate,” Sandy said and winked. “Take care.”
Five minutes later, Bill and Flint had disappeared from view and were making good time along what was recognised as the old main route through the forest. Crucially they were heading off in a direction which was out of range of Sandy’s laser while it was used on trees.
The murmur of voices and the occasional sound of laughter had long faded, and the only sounds were the breeze rustling the leaves and the chirping of birds.
Bill said, “It’s so tranquil. Before we allow Jean or any of the others to bring the children in here to appreciate nature, we have to be confident that it’s also safe.”
“Are we going to the pond first?”
“Yes, but now we know that apart from being an idyllic setting, it’s also an ideal ambush or booby-trap site.”
Flint said, “It disturbs me to think I was ready to offer the hand of friendship, and the crazy woman tried to kill me.”
“If I’m reading her correctly, mate, Patsy Mayne had no intention of simply skulking away after that incident. She’d want to make sure we know that any contact or offer of friendship isn’t wanted.”
“I would have thought that surviving six years in here with—”
Bill placed a finger to his lips and then pointed ahead.
A spotted lynx was lapping at the freshwater pond a few metres away, pausing raising its head and then enjoying more water. For a few minutes, the big furry cat enjoyed the refreshment, paused one more time with its tufted ears pricked up, whiskers and stubby tail twitching, and then it turned and trotted off among the greenery.
Flint whispered, “What a beautiful creature—I’ve never seen one in the wild, and it’s so big.”
The men waited two minutes to let the cat get far away before they advanced to the pond.
“Stand back beside that big tree,” Bill said and then he squatted to lift a heavy, broken branch from the forest floor. He held it down by his side pointing towards the pond and then after swinging it back and forward he let it go, and it flew forward to land two metres from the edge of the water.
‘Thwack’ echoed in the vicinity and for a moment the birds were silent except for the sound of wing beats.
Bill nodded towards the area in which he’d thrown the large branch. “As we already know, that’s the direction and route that any human would naturally go towards the water.”
At chest height, a single long branch was barring the way for going forward. Attached to the sturdy branch and pointing back towards Bill and Flint were six long, pointed wooden prongs. One would have caused severe damage to a body, but they were spaced out to accommodate the killing or maiming of two people should they have been walking side by side.
“There are a few wild animals around here, so I’m surprised they haven’t triggered that thing.”
“They will, if the device is meant for them. If hunting for food, we’d both probably use a loop snare or a pit but catapulted prongs like those work too if they’re at the correct height.”
“Did you know it was there?”
“I wasn’t sure, but after the brief stop our two wild neighbours made I thought I’d err on the side of caution. Stay where you are for a few minutes, mate, and I’ll check the other side.” Bill walked off among the trees to approach the pond on the old overgrown path from the opposite direction. Bill performed a similar routine with a fallen branch.
‘Thwack’ It would have been the same result if a person approached from the other direction.
Bill lifted a long and slender branch which he used to beat the ground between the trees and the pond near the two booby-traps. When satisfied that the area was safe, he pulled out his knife and cut the lengths of natural cordage that had been used to spring the traps. While Flint stood guard, Bill dismantled the two poles and broke free the prongs which he threw into the middle of the pond.
Bill said, “This must confirm for you that dealing with Patsy Mayne isn’t like dealing with a normal person.”
“I don’t think there is a normal tissue in the woman’s body.”
Following half an hour of steady climbing within the forest, they stopped. Bill and Flint took the weight off their feet by supporting themselves against stout trees without falling down through the area they’d just ascended.
Bill reached back and pulled his bottle from his backpack. He flipped the lid and offered it to Flint. “We’ll have a few sips before we move on.”
“Thanks.” Flint drank water, took a few breaths and had some more water before handing back the bottle. “I still feel as if she’s around here watching us.”
Bill enjoyed a drink and put away his bottle. “I’m confident she’ll leave the area. At least when we’re sure she’s gone, it’ll be great to bring the children into the forest. Can you imagine how much they would enjoy it—they’ve never known anything but inside the mountain and the view from the glass corridor?”
“How soon do you reckon it will be before it’s safe to let them outside onto the mountainside?”
“I think we can plan towards them getting out when we have the large timber shelter built.”
“What’s your reason for waiting so long if we’ve got a couple of people trained to shoot?”
“The children are all eager to get out now, but they don’t understand the dangers. We must be absolutely confident that we’ve done all we can to protect them against an attack by a roaming wild animal.”
“Surely they’d be okay if one of their escorts had a weapon?”
“Imagine if a six-year-old sees a large wild animal for the first time and runs downhill. The nature of a predator is to cut one creature from the herd, and the rest of the hunt is dependent on speed. You, Sandy and I are all pretty quick. I’d be hard-pushed to hit a running animal, especially if there happened to be more than one in the vicinity.”
“I get your point.”
“Jean is doing natural history lessons and using some of the books we rescued. The idea isn’t to frighten the youngsters, but to make them aware that they can’t cuddle a wolf or a leopard—not until they’ve really got to know it first.”
Flint grinned and nodded. “Come on, let’s get to these caves.”
When there were glimpses of the largest cave, Bill moved forward and touched Flint’s arm. “Would you like to deal with this one?”
“I would, most definitely.”
Bill moved to one side where he could maintain a lookout for danger.
Fli
nt lifted a long branch, moved back and then reached forward to slam the branch to the ground. A frame fitted with several sharpened spikes flew forward from between the two trees opposite the cave entrance.
‘Thwack’ The terrible sound of the wooden structure slamming the perimeter of the entrance was only half of the story. A rapid clicking sound followed for a few seconds.
Flint moved back to join Bill. “The spikes on the other side of that frame weren’t fixed—they went into the cave entrance separately at speed.”
“They didn’t stop at the opening?”
“No. Judging from the clicking sounds and the holes they left in the frame, it was designed so that it didn’t matter if you were going in or coming out, you were caught. The tripwire was just as it was when I was here with Sandy. The wooden frame slammed into the entrance, but if no target were impaled, the spikes are fitted loose so they can shoot out of the frame into the cave.”
“How many spikes were on the frame?”
“Judging by the holes in the frame, I think about eight or nine. They were all as long as a fingertip to the wrist. If they didn’t kill you, it would be your utmost desire.”
“I remember what you and Sandy described, so I’ve no interest in going inside.”
Flint nodded. “I’ll tackle the next one now.” He lifted his long branch and set off towards the second cave. Flint moved to within a metre and reached out to snag his long branch in the bush which covered the entrance. He threw himself to the ground as he tugged the bush away.
After a quiet whooshing sound, three long arrows were embedded in trees a few metres away and directly opposite the camouflaged cave entrance.
Flint pulled the loose bush completely clear and then slapped his long branch onto the ground around the entrance—nothing. He reached for the area between the two caves, where the other tripwire had been laid and triggered. No response.
